Long Lost Blood
by HarvestMoonFreak723
Summary: Oneshot! Claire and Rio meet a stranger at a crowded Bazzar, shocked to see they're looking at what appears to be a clone of themselves. (Not related to Simple Song or Fall For You.) (Hints of ClairexGray, RioxNeil.)


**Long Lost Blood**

They say everyone has a twin out there. When they say that though, they're usually referring to someone who has extremely similar physical features as you do. They don't mean a real, legitimate sibling whose blood you share.

Well for me, in this case, I had the legitimate twin.

We found each other by accident. We were both in Zephayr Village, shopping at the (once again) world renounced Bazzar. I was at the wrapping stall, ordering packaging for the gorgeous accessory I had found, thinking of Gray instantly. It would be a wonderful present for his upcoming birthday, seeing as it was one of his favorite items. I smiled as I thought of my husband, snowflakes falling and sticking to my lashes.

I received my package, stumbling into a woman next to me, who was leaving the line at the same time. We crashed and fell, losing our grips on our purchases. I shook my head quickly, stumbling to get up to apologize.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry!" I rushed out, offering her a hand to help her up. She took my hand, and I pulled her up. She lifted her head, and I gasped at the same moment she did.

Dark, sapphire blue eyes. Long, straight golden blonde hair. Pale skin. That heart shaped face. That tiny nose with a small dotting of freckles.

I was looking at a perfect copy of myself.

We stared at each other speechless, snapping out of our trance when someone in the line shoved by us hurriedly. Returning with a start, I look to the ground to see both our packages, frowning when I see they're both wrapped in the red paper. We look at each other, embarrassment coloring our cheeks.

"Here," she says quickly, her voice that same pitch and range as mine, a bit of a southern accent coloring it. She reaches down and scoops the gifts up, facing me fully. "We can go to the café and try to sort these out. We're kinda in the way right now."

I nod, smiling at her gratefully. We stroll the short distance to the stall, ordering two herbal teas with a squeezed lemon. She places the packages on the table, and we try to clear the awkward air.

"I'm so sorry about this," I tell her guiltily. I hold out my hand to her again, adding a smile this time. "I'm Claire."

She returns my smile, her dimples and curve of her lips reflecting mine perfectly. "Rio," she replies, shaking my hand firmly, our grip and hands identical. We return our hands to our respective beverages and take a sip, trying to fill the awkward silence.

"So," I say, clearing my throat. "Maybe we can figure which gift is which by weight? What did you have wrapped?"

She smiled brightly, her face lighting up instantly, eyes shinning. I knew that look well. It's a look of someone in love. I looked just like that when I thought of Gray.

"Great Yak Herb Cheese," she says happily. "My husband, Neil, absolutely loves it. I have a few Yaks, but none of them can make Great Milk yet. I thought it'd be a nice surprise, since his birthday is soon."

My eyebrows rise in interest. "Really? So is my husband's! His name is Gray."

"That's so cool! Neil's is Winter 9th, when is your Gray's?"

"Winter 6th."

"Oh wow! That's really close! Mine is Summer 23rd."

"Get out!" I squealed. "So's mine!"

"No way!"

"Way!"

And so there we sat, discussing similarities and differences, in ourselves, husbands, and our daughters. We completely forgot about the present problem. Despite Rio looking like my clone, she was a great girl. We even had similar fashion senses. I wore brown boots under my jean overalls, a baggy red and white flannel underneath. She sported a cow-hide ten gallon hat, a long white sleeved shirt, knee length boots with her jean overalls tucked in them, and a long red scarf draped around her neck and tied in a knot.

We talked about everything. How hard it was to get our tsundere loves to drop their walls and fall in love with us; the difficulties or raising a farm; our town events and devotion to the Harvest Goddess.

"My daughter, Katherine, she's turning four on Winter 16th," I was saying. "She has my hair and eyes, but Gray's facial features. I'm hoping we'll have a better idea of whose cooking abilities she inherited soon. Gray doesn't like to cook anything that isn't made by being thrown into a pot and boiled," I joked fondly.

"I know!" Rio was saying excitedly. "Neil is the same way! He hates sweets, but he can cook them well at least. Rachel will be six in Summer. She has purple eyes, a unique mix of my blue and his red, and we're both blonde so she is too, but I'm pretty sure the shade is closer to his than mine. She doesn't care for cooking yet, but she's definitely inherited his fashion sense and attitude!"

"Goddess, Gray loves sweets! The amount of times I catch him with chocolate or apple pie being shoved in his face in the middle of the night," I recall, getting us both laughing again.

"Gosh, it's so freaky how similar we are," Rio remarked lightly. "I mean, our personal interests are almost spot-on. Even our taste in men is ridiculously similar!"

"It is, isn't it?" I agreed.

"Do you have any siblings, Claire?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't. My parents split when I was just a baby; I haven't seen my father since then."

"Okay, this is freaky," Rio said, laughing a little nervously. "I don't have and siblings either. My parents split when I was an infant too. But it's my mother that I haven't seen."

We smiled at each other, amused by this turn of events. But a thought strikes me, and my smile falls instantly. Rio drops hers in concern.

"How old are you, Rio?" I ask hesitantly.

"Twenty-seven."

"Same. What was your mother's name?"

"Umm... Stephanie?"

"My mother's name is Stephanie, too."

She looks at me, realization dawning on her. "Was your father's name Pete?" she whispered.

"Yeah, it was. Is yours?"

She swallows nervously. "Yeah."

I take a deep breathe. Moment of truth.

"Rio, is your maiden surname Royale?"

She sucks in a deep gasp, her eyes widening in shock. Her breathe is barely above a whisper, voice quavering.

"Yes."

I nod, lowering my head to take in a desperate breath of air.

"It's mine as well."

We sit in silence, the Bazzar minutes from closing now. I look up into her eyes- my eyes- and ask the silent question hanging in the air, off our tongues.

"Rio... Are you... are you my sister?"

She gives a little, shaky sob, a smile on her face despite the few tears sliding down her face. "I think I am."

I smile wide, face nearly breaking in two. "I have a sister."

She smiles back, her tears of joy falling quicker, causing my own eyes to mist over. "We're not just sisters, Claire. We're _twins_."

Now I am crying. "Twins," I breath, voice disbelieving. I jolt from my chair, running to her side just as she stands up. I engulf her in a fierce embrace, holding her as close as physically possible, tears streaming. She wraps her arms around me quickly, her hold just as tight as my own.

I have a sister. I have a twin sister. I have a niece, and a brother-in-law.

My heart clenches at what this means for the rest of my family. Katherine has an aunt. Gray has a sister-in-law. Mom has her second daughter back.

My heart stutters in my chest. I have my father back.

"I've spent my whole life without you," I whisper brokenly, aware that the Bazzar is closed and the ships will leave soon.

"And I you," she returns just as difficultly.

We stay that way for a little while longer, realizing the ships have left without us. We grab the packages- still unidentifiable- and walk to the Inn hand in hand, where we proceed to share a room. We call our significant others, explaining we missed the boat and will be home tomorrow.

We sit in the middle of our beds and face each other, telling each other about our childhoods, our parents and our lives without the other. We stay up the entire night, unable to sleep, afraid we'll wake up to find out it was all just a dream.

The sun peaks through the windows, and I smile a tired, excited smile.

Wait till I tell my family. _Our_ family.


End file.
